Catalyzed hydrocarbyllithium process

A process for alkylating an alkali metal selected from lithium, sodium and potassium with an alkyl halide containing 3 to 20 carbon atoms in which the improvement comprises conducting the reaction in a hydrocarbon solvent in the presence of a catalyst compound represented by the formula

• (RR.sup.1 R.sup.2 M.sup.a)yA(R.sup.3)x
• wherein R, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are independently selected from hydrogen, halogen, alkyl, and alkenyl groups containing 1 to 13 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl groups containing 3 to 10 carbon atoms, aryl groups containing 6 to 18 carbon atoms, R.sup.3 is independently selected from aryl groups containing 6 to 18 carbon atoms, four to six-membered heterocyclic carbon containing groups containing one to two hetero atoms selected from oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur;
• hydroxyalkyl, alkoxyalkyl and monoalkylaminoalkyl and dialkylaminoalkyl groups containing 2 to 13 carbon atoms;
• M.sup.a is selected from silicon, carbon, germanium, and tin, A is selected from oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen and phosphorus, and x and y independently have values from zero to three.